It was just this morning heading westbound down Parley’s Canyon on interstate 80 when I slowly passed yet another animal transport truck filled to capacity with pigs, swine, or hogs. I’m actually not sure what the correct term is. I guess it depends on who you ask. My vehicle and the transport truck were going roughly the same speed so I had a little time to peek in. I’m not sure how many motorists do the same and actually look through the metal slats to see who is inside one of these trailers. I’m hoping many but I’m guessing only a few. This sight immediately makes me stop my thoughts and have a moment for the animals that are surely bound for the slaughterhouse. As much as this sight breaks my heart, I do not feel any hate or anger towards the driver, the trucking company, the producers, or the processors. I try my absolute hardest to send only good thoughts and absolute love to the animals inside. Every time I see one of these trucks the same question in some form or another pops into my head. It’s usually something along the lines of “How in this day and age is raising and slaughtering animals for food still a thing?”

What we know in 2017 is the science based fact that the more animal protein one consumes the more health problems and disease one will have. It is science based fact that animal agriculture is responsible for most of the water pollution, ocean dead zones, and deforestation on this planet. Not to mention it is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the whole transportation industry combined.

It was not until my 22nd year on this planet before I realized the amount of suffering I caused simply because of my regular “western” diet. When I realized that not only would a plant-based diet or vegan diet eliminate this needless suffering but it would also be the healthiest diet for my body and least destructive of all diets on our environment, it simply was a no brainer to make the switch.

Early next month, Sage Mountain is sponsoring our 10 day “Plant Powered Challenge” with local fitness expert Kent Maurer. I strongly encourage you to sign up and see for yourself how empowering a plant based vegan diet can be.

Keep in mind that nothing will do more for human health, this planet’s environment, and most importantly reduce suffering, than removing animal products from our plates…and that is a science based fact.

*If you would like more information on our 10 day Plant Powered Challenge please email Kent Maurer at kwmaurer@gmail.com or Dave Swartz at dave@sagemtn.org

I would have to say that the most asked question I get about Sage Mountain is “When are you getting some animals?” Since this is a hot topic, I would like to give an update on our facility and where we are in the process.

We currently have two shelters built (one mid-sized for pigs/sheep and one large shelter for cows.) We are also finishing up work on two chicken coops adjacent to the shelters. If you were at our last event at the High West Distillery you probably heard that we are currently looking for a fencing contractor. That is definitely our biggest concern right now in regards to opening our animal facility. I have been blown off by two fencing contractors this spring. One of them had me on the hook for two months before I finally had to move on. I just can’t understand how some people can run a business like that but apparently it is pretty common in the contracting world. Luckily, I have an appointment this Tuesday for someone to come and give an estimate and hopefully perform the fencing work. At this point if someone shows up, sober… well they don’t even have to be sober as long as they are on time and perform the quality work they say they will do, then they’re hired!

The next question I get asked quite frequently is how many animals will you have? The answer to that question is only a handful, perhaps 10 at most. There are number of reasons for having so few animals.

First, these are ambassador animals. With billions of farmed animals slaughtered every year, if we took in a million animals we would still be at a tiny fraction of one percent.

Second, we are so lucky to have such a beautiful place that is shared with so much wildlife. The number one cause of wildlife degradation is animal agriculture. We want to continue to share the land with the local wildlife and having loads of farmed animals will certainly take away from the wildlife.

Thirdly, taking care of farmed animals if very costly and time consuming. Remember that some of these animals in the agriculture industry only live for a few months to a year or two. At our facility these animals could live from 15 to 20 years. It will take lots of time and resources to give these animals the home they deserve.

Through our education and advocacy initiatives, we hope to change the way people view farmed animals and assist them with making the switch to a plant based diet that will better our planet, our health, and the animals we share this world with.